1. Terrific idea, terrible execution
Nevaeh
What do you do when the real nightmare begins after you wake up?
I force my weakened body to sit upright, and the chains shackled to my limbs clank sharply, the sound echoing through the quiet dungeon. The ice-cold concrete wall presses against the fresh cuts on my back, and I wince. The memories of last night’s whipping are still vivid in my mind.
The hideous overalls I’m forced to wear are still damp with my blood, making it even harder to stop shivering.
Judging by the open scars scattered across my numb body, it’s obvious my healing powers have all but vanished over the past week.
When the Almighty God and All-knowing Fates combined their powers to bring life into this universe, they createdDivine—a raw power capable of creating and destroying worlds. Every living creature carries a small piece of this magic inside them, but for supernatural beings, Divine is the core of our existence. But my Divine is a little...unsteady.
The stench of my blood mixed with the scent of burned flesh from a nearby cell is nothing new to me. Just another morning atmi casa de torture, except something is missing—orsomeone.
The absence of my cellmate is enough to pull me out of my daze. Blinking through the haze clouding my vision, I frantically pat the cold floor, searching for signs of him, but there’s nothing.
For months, I’ve woken up to the toddler curled against my stomach, so where is he now?
Where’s my little boy?
A terrified whimper echoes through the dungeon, and my heart stops at the familiar cry. My head instinctively jerks toward the sound, yanking the iron chain tied to my hair. I gasp when a sharp pain flares in my scalp, blinding me before dread seeps into my bones. Bile claws at my throat when another whimper echoes inside the murky walls of my cell.
They took him.
No, they can’t take him. They haven’t touched the boy in months.We had a deal. I take his share of punishments, and they leave him alone.
Fear grips me entirely, his muffled scream rattling my insides. I’m still disoriented from blacking out last night, but the terrified cries of my little boy help me to push past the bone-crushing pain.
I breathe through my nose, willing my hands to stop shaking. I’m wasting time by just sitting here doing nothing. I need to find the kid before they can taint him. I can’t let them break him like they broke me.
I wedge two fingers under the collar to keep it from biting into my neck and drag my battered body to the corner of this disgusting dungeon.
I shove my tattered dress under my scraped knees as a makeshift cushion and begin digging. The broken pieces of cement cut into my fingers, but I welcome the pain. I need it to cut through the dizziness.
I’ve been planning our escape for months, tracking the shifts with the fewest guards and picking which ones I might stand a chance against in my current state. I was ready to break my little guy out of this nightmare, but not like this—not when I’m barely conscious and can’t even remember which day it is.
My fingers finally reach the dagger I stashed here weeks ago, but the cold metal digs into my palm when I try to pull it out. I swallow a gasp of pain and try to ignore the sting as I crawl back to where my chains are anchored.
The dagger is rusted and probably wouldn’t do much harm,but at least I have a weapon now. I risked my life stowing away this dagger the night they threw that little boy into my cell. One look at him, and I knew I would put it all on the line to get him out of here.
The darkness in the cell, paired with my blurry vision, makes it hard to see. I have to blindly search the chain around my wrists, tugging each link to find a weak point. When I finally find a chipped hook that looks weak enough to snap, I take a steadying breath and yank the chain with everything I’ve got. It takes three hard pulls to free my wrists and two for my ankles.
A tear slides down my cheek as I stomp on the last shred of pride I have left and steady my shaking hands to cut the ends of my hair that are tied to the chain.
I wish I had more time to savor the feeling of finally being free from these damn chains after a decade, but time is not on my side today.
Fucking witches.I hate this coven with every fiber of my being. The Crescent Moon might be the strongest coven among supernaturals, but it also houses the most vile magic bearer to ever exist.
I can’t wait to burn it all to the ground.
It’s hard to choke down my overwhelming need for revenge, but the need to save the kid trumps my thirst for revenge.
Unfortunately for the Deviant guards on duty, they are so focused on torturing my little boy that they won’t see me coming until I’m right behind them.
Deviants are undead human puppets with zero working brain cells. The loyal puppies obey their Queen’s commands without remorse or hesitation.
The Crescent Moon Coven is known for its ancient practice of hunting down helpless humans on their deathbeds and offering them immortality in exchange for eternal loyalty.
